It was shortly before midnight, and Dr Patricia was getting ready for bed. The phone rang on the end of the line was a woman about to break a promise.
The woman was her mother’s neighbour. Flora Harris had made the neighbour swear she wouldn’t tell her daughter she’d a heart attack and was in the hospital, for fear her daughter would worry. The neighbour wisely decided to disobey orders.
Harris desperately wanted to get to the hospital immediately, but she couldn’t. She lives in Washington, D.C, and her mother lives in California.
For the past year a half, Harris has gone to Los Angeles every other month to take care of her mother. Flora Harris takes care of her husband, James, who’s 91 and has Alzheimer’s disease. They live in their own home, and a caregiver comes to help them a few hours a day.
Harris is one of many Americans facing the heartache of how to take care of aging parents from afar. She’s often worried, not to mention extremely busy with a demanding job, two teenage daughters and the frequent trips to California.
In some ways, Harris is lucky. She has the resources to make the trips to Los Angeles. Plus, Harris is a doctor who treats the elderly.
“ But it’s still tough,” she said. “ I can foresee what the next few years are going to look like, and it’s not a pretty picture. My father’s going to need diapers (尿布). There will come a time when he won’ t recognize me and he’s easily excited. I worry he’s going to be violent and hurt my mother.”
So what do you do when you live a continent away for your aging, sick parents? There are no magic answers. You can hire someone to help, but you can’t outsource it completely.
1.Why was the woman thought to have broken a promise?
A. She failed to take care of Flora.
B. She was not supposed to call Harris at midnight.
C. She couldn’t go to hospital on time.
D. She told Harris about her mother’s illness.
2.What can we learn about Patricia Harris from the passage?
A. She thinks it harder to look after her parents the next few years.
B. He parents cannot take themselves at all.
C. She cannot do a demanding job.
D. She cannot afford to go to California often.
3.What does the underlined word “ outsource” in the last paragraph mean?
A. Arrange somebody outside to do a job.
B. Work something out by oneself.
C. Speak something out for help.
D. Understand something.
4.What’s the main idea of this passage?
A. Aging people in the USA are increasing.
B. The rate of heart disease is high in America.
C. It is difficult to tend aging parents from afar.
D. Harris advises on tending aging parents from afar.
China’s Jade Rabbit moon rover (月球车）has “ woken up” since it entered the lunar night two weeks ago. The moon rover, known as Yutu in Mandarin Chinese, and the Chang’e-3 lander were restarted by the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC), China’s Xinhua news agency said.
It had been set to sleep for two weeks to ride out extreme climatic conditions and will finally undertake its scientific mission. The Jade Rabbit was “ put to sleep” on 26 December at the onset of the first lunar night of the mission. One night on the moon lasts for around two weeks on Earth and during this time, temperatures fall to -180℃ ---conditions too cold for the equipment to function in. There is also no sunlight to power the Jade Rabbit’s solar panels.
Zhou Jianliang, chief engineer with the BACC, explained: “ During the lunar night, the lander and the rover were in a power-off condition and the communication with Earth was cut off.
“ When the night ends, they will be started up with the power provided by sunlight and resume operation and communication according to preset programmes. He added that the Jade Rabbit surviving the lunar night showed Chinese technology had proved successful.
The Jade Rabbit and the lander compose Chang’e-3 landed on the moon on 14 December. With the landing, China became one of only three nations to soft-land on the moon, and the first to do so in more than three decades.
Scientists said the mission was designed to test new technologies and build the country’s expertise of space exploration. The Jade Rabbit will gather scientific data and capture images from the Moon. China was planning further missions planned to collect lunar soil samples and it is thought officials are looking to conduct manned lunar landings if they prove successful.
1.Jade Rabbit fell into sleep because ________.
A. there was something wrong in the machine
B. the Chang’e-3 lander struck it by accident
C. it was designed to avoid the bad weather
D. it had completed the scientific mission
2.According to Zhou Jianliang we can know that ________.
A. on the moon the rover can’t communicate with the lander
B. sunlight is the necessary power for the rover and the lander
C. Chinese technology has been regarded the most successful
D. the lunar night can destroy the equipment on the moon
3.It can inferred from the passage that ________.
A. China had made great achievements in 10 years
B. no country can be equal to China in exploring space
C. scientists can get more proof to research the moon
D. the soil from the moon has been taken to China
4.What does the author intend to tell in the passage?
A. Jade Rabbit wakes up to begin moon mission.
B. Jade Rabbit was put to sleep on the moon.
C. Jade Rabbit lost contact with the earth.
D. Jade Rabbit is to undertake new mission.
The summer holidays are upon us again. Here is our guide to summer holiday fun in Peterborough!
Peterborough Museum
The Age of the Dinosaurs’ is the museum’s main attraction this summer. Get up close to prehistoric creatures via some great hands---on exhibits! Watch out for monsters lurking (潜伏）around every ember! The museum is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Saturday, and from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Sundays in August.
Call 01733 864663 for details.
Saxon Youth Club
School holiday fun: Young people aged 13-19 will be able to produce their own music, compete in spots activities, or try their hand at cooking at Saxon Youth Club, Saxon Community Center, Norman Road, Peterborough every Monday and Wednesday from 3:00 pm. PLUS an aero ball tournament will take place on Thursday, 12th August between 3:30 pm and 6:30 pm.
Houghton Mill
Alice through the Looking Class---a new production of the family favorite on Monday, 30th August. Bring rugs or chairs to sit on and a picnic if you wish to eat during the play. Gates open 5:30 performance 6:30 pm---8:30 pm. Tea room will be open until end of the interval. Adult £10. Child £ 7. Family £ 20.
Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey
Farmland Games: From Wellie Wanging to Pretend Ploughing matches, come and join the Farmland Team. Collect your sporting stickers and create a colorful rosette （玫瑰形饰物）that is fit for a winner! No need to book, just turn up between 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm on Thursday, 19th August. Suitbale for children aged four and above, each child should be accompanied by an adult and all activities are included in the normal admission price. Tickets Cost £ 7 per child.
For further information, call 01223 810080.
1.If you are interested in cooking, you can go to ________.
A. Peterborough Museum B. Houghton Mill
C. Saxon Youth Club D. Farmland Museum
2.You want to watch the new play with your parents, so it will cost you ________.
A. £ 21. B. £ 17. C. £ 27. D. £ 20.
3.Which of the following activities needs parents’ company?
A. Playing farmland games.
B. Watching a new play.
C. Competing in spots activities.
D. Visiting the dinosaur exhibition.
如今，我们身边不乏“低头族”。他们在与朋友聚会、家人团聚或乘坐交通工具时，常常低头忙于浏览手机。请简要描述此现象，并发表你的看法。
提示词：低头族phubbing
注意：1．词数100左右；
2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3．开头语己为你写好。
短文改错(共10分，每小题1分，满分10分)
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下短文。短文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改： 在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
This afternoon 1 went to see my grandfather by a bus．It was very crowded and I had to stand．Besides me，there was a woman hold a little boy in her arms．In front of her, a young man occupies two seats，pretending to be sleeping．I heard the little boy curious asking his mother, “What’s wrong with the uncle?” I had thought if perhaps the woman would blame the man．Beyond her expectations，the woman answered with a smile，“Be quiet．This uncle must very tired because of hard work．”The young man must have heard the word．His face turned red but offered one seat to the woman at once．
David will never for get what happened to him the day before yesterday．He 1.(eat)something at home when he received a strange phone call from a hospital．The caller said that his son 2.(fall) to the ground unconscious on the way to schoo1．It was he _ 3.took him to the hospital．David hung up his cell phone and rushed to his son’s classroom，only to find him listening to the teacher attentively．He suddenly realized that he had been cheated，but he felt 4. (relieve)．Just at that time the phone rang again，saying，“Your son is in great danger and he needs 5.immediate operation which costs 48，000 yuan． The doctors here say they will not operate 6.your son until they receive the money．’’When 7.(ask) from where the caller had taken his son to hospital，the caller rang off．David gave a big smile and said．“What a pity!”
If the cheater thought he could get money from David in such a 8. (honest)way, he was wrong．Such phone calls are common these days．A few of them might have fallen victims to such tricks．Most parents are sensitive to 9.．It was really silly to cheat well—educated men like David．
Believe it or not，it’s a true story．The 10.(colleague)in his office can confirm it，such as Tom，Peter and so on．
